HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015.12.10 PacketDraft Minutes☒
Approved Minutes☐
Approved Date:
Minutes
City Of Edina, Minnesota
Human Rights and Relations Commission
City Hall, Community Room
November 17, 2015 at 7:00pm
I. Call To Order
Chair Arseneault called the November 17th, 2015 Human Rights and Relations Commission
meeting to order at 7:01 PM.
II. Roll Call
Answering roll call were Chair Arseneault, Commissioners Burza, Kennedy, Rinn, Seidman,
Tian, Vecchio-Smith, and Student Commissioners Kearney and Ramesh. Staff present: HRRC
Staff Liaison MJ Lamon and City Management Fellow Devin Massopust.
Absent Members: Commissioner Winnick
III. Approval Of Meeting Agenda
Motion by Kennedy to approve the November 17, 2015 Human Rights and Relations
Commission meeting agenda. Motion seconded by Seidman. Motion carried.
IV. Approval Of Meeting Minutes
Motion by Rinn to approve the October 27, 2015 minutes. Motion seconded by
Seidman. Motion carried.
V. Special Recognitions and Presentations
A. Arnie Bigbee, Community Conversations Report
Arnie Bigbee gave a presentation to the Commission about the history of the
Community Conversations project and the recent conclusion of the listening sessions.
He noted it was a great experience and that the results will hopefully allow the
community to develop and mature.
VI. Community Comment
None.
VII. Reports/Recommendations
Draft Minutes☒
Approved Minutes☐
Approved Date:
A. City Council Work Session Recap
The Commission discussed their recent work session with the Edina City Council and
follow up action for the commission based upon the meeting, including the Mayor’s
suggestion regarding an event about cultural understanding in light of recent events
in Paris.
Motion by Seidman to add a new event to the 2016 Work Plan tentatively titled
“Sharing Values and Sharing Communities”. Motion seconded by Tian. Motion carried.
B. 2015 Work Plan Updates
1. Human Services Funding Task Force
Commissioner Rinn updated the Commission on the status of the Human Services
Funding Task Force and that the City Council reviewed the Task Force’s
recommendation and will approve it at the following City Council meeting.
2. League of Minnesota Human Rights Commissions
Commissioner Kennedy reported on the annual meeting of the League of Minnesota
Human Rights Commissions on November 7, 2015. A new President (David
Singleton) was elected.
3. Human Rights City Designation
Commissioner Kennedy let the Commission know that there are five confirmed dates
so far for presentations regarding the Human Rights City Designation on November
24th, January 28th, February 11th and 13t h and March 7.
C. Preparation for December Televised Meeting
The Commission reviewed what would be taking place at the December 10th televised
meeting; the commission will follow our regular meeting agenda, beginning with a
special presentation by guest speaker Government Affairs Consultant Sarah Walker.
About 35 minutes is estimated for Ms. Walker’s presentation (20-25 minutes
presentation with up to 10 minutes for questions).
VIII. Correspondence and Petitions
None.
IX. Chair and Member Comments
Draft Minutes☒
Approved Minutes☐
Approved Date:
• Commissioner Seidman let the Commission know that their work is being noticed in
the community, especially as it relates to the Days of Remembrance Event and that
people in the public want to know when the next event is being held.
• Commissioner Burza shared that she thought the work session with the City Council
went well and was pleased by the meeting.
• Commissioner Kearney stated that the events in Paris bring to light the important
work that is being done at the local level by the Commission.
• Commissioner Rhamesh noted that he is looking forward to seeing the report that is
produced from the Community Conversations events.
• Chair Arseneault told the Commission that the Bias Offense Response team
convened on November 9th about an incident that occurred at Wooddale Park and
the response protocol was being followed.
X. Staff Comments
Staff Liaison Lamon stated that on December 1st applications for commissioner
reappointments will be sent out.
XI. Calendar of Events
XII. Adjournment
Motion by Kennedy to adjourn the November 17th HRRC meeting at 8:37 PM. Motion
seconded by Seidman. Motion carried.
Community Conversations Working
Group Report
To
Edina Human Rights and Relations Commission
December 10, 2015
Background
In 2014, the Edina Human Rights and Relations Commission adopted a
new initiative called Community Conversations, a series of structured
listening sessions modeled after the work of The Advocates for Human
Rights. The commission’s objective was to discover how residents of
Edina, especially those of diverse backgrounds, experienced our
community.
The Advocates for Human Rights evolved the process for Community
Conversations to include several principles, including openness,
confidentiality, and accuracy in recording comments. The Conversations,
called “listening sessions,” were held in easily accessible locations in
neighborhoods with which the residents were familiar and comfortable.
Snacks and refreshments were provided to encourage sharing.
The Process
Each Conversation listening session consisted of three main parts: (1)
asking participants to identify the qualities of the perfect welcoming
community; (2) small group discussions around one central question, “What
is your experience of being welcomed in Edina?;” and (3) gathering
feedback from the small group discussions.
Demographics
Overall, six Conversation listening sessions were held, in November 2014
and October 2015. Out of the seventy-five Edina residents who
participated, fifty participants completed demographic questionnaires.
The demographic forms indicated:
• 23 female / 27 male
• 30 white / 2 African American / 4 African / 9 Asian-Pacific Islander /
1 Latino- Hispanic / 1 American Indian-Alaska Native
• Age range: 9 – 87 years
Average age 49 years / Median age 54 years
• Languages spoken:
English / German / French / Spanish / Chinese / Somali / Swahili
Qualities Participants’ Identified as the Perfect Welcoming
Community
Housing
Participants expressed that ideal housing should be safe, clean, quiet,
affordable to rent or buy, with available community gathering spaces.
Community
Participants’ comments regarding the ideal community included:
• Feeling welcome, with people reaching out especially to newcomers
• Being invited to participate and contribute in the community
• Identifying themselves with those in positions of authority
• Having easy (multilingual) access to resources such as food, banks,
medical care, libraries, schools, child care
• Having a diverse community
• Being accepting of diversity and different religious faiths
• Providing resources to support and encourage multicultural and
economic diversity
• Having good signage in the community in the variety of languages
spoken by residents
• Having advocacy groups to support legal aid and medical care needs
• Being respected
Education
Participants’ comments regarding ideal education included:
• Children being able to attend strong schools in their neighborhoods
• Residents of Edina having open enrollment for children in Edina
Public Schools
• Providing workshops on housing, work and education in schools
Safety
Participants’ comments regarding an ideal safe community included:
• Feeling safe in home and neighborhood
• Having friendly police officers
• Having crime free or low crime neighborhoods
• Having freedom from bullying
Mobility
Participants’ comments regarding ideal mobility included:
• Having bountiful public transportation that connects people to places
they want to go
• Having safe sidewalks that make neighborhoods easy to navigate
• Having well maintained streets
• Having walking and biking trails
• Having access to “nice ride” bikes in the neighborhood
Conversations Feedback
Participants shared experiences and provided feedback on areas that could
be improved.
Participants expressed the following:
With Regard to Housing
• There is not easy access to housing that is affordable to rent or own.
• In our neighborhood, we experience noise and vandalism.
• There are not adequate spaces for children to play, especially in bad
weather.
• There are no community gathering spaces that afford easy gathering
of informal groups.
• Sometimes it seems like Edina wants to get rid of affordable housing.
With Regard to the Community
• Edina feels like a close knit and superior group that doesn’t let others
in.
• Residents who are not citizens feel like they have no voice in Edina.
• My language and culture make me feel like there are barriers to
participating.
• Sometimes the city is not responsive to citizen issues.
• Not all public and private facilities are fully accessible for those with
disabilities.
• The City of Edina and the Edina Public Schools tax, and spend,
wisely.
• We like the increasing food diversity.
• There is no art from my culture in the Edina art events or fairs.
• Where is the Edina Department of Social Services?
• Edina City Magazine and About Town don’t reflect the diversity of
Edina.
• Politician outreach is good.
• I’ve heard people call my neighborhood “the ghetto of Edina.”
• When families in our neighborhood need help with food or clothing we
go to other communities - there don’t seem to be helping resources in
Edina.
• There seems to be a stigma for seeking helping resources in Edina.
• It’s lonely here - I feel like I live on an island.
With Regard to Education
• We like that the school bus drivers are all employees of Edina Public
Schools.
• We can’t always easily afford the extra costs of transportation,
computers, internet, uniforms, equipment, etc. for required or
extracurricular activities in Edina Public Schools.
• Sometimes it seems like we are “priced out of fitting in”.
• The City of Edina needs to partner more with Edina Public Schools to
learn more about cultural outreach and diversity initiatives.
• Our kids did not win the lottery to attend Edina Public Schools- then
the private schools convenient to us said our kids were “not a good
fit” for their programs.
• Our kids are bullied at school for being from Edina.
• Edina Public Schools treats kids with disabilities very well.
• The staff is not very diverse in Edina Public Schools.
With Regard to Safety
• Police have a positive relationship through events like the parade.
• Our neighborhood experiences vandalism.
• Our kids are bullied by kids from a nearby apartment building.
• It seems like Edina police harass me with frequent traffic stops (I’m
black).
• Edina police don’t seem to understand the rules for international
drivers’ license holders - the police say “tell it to the judge” and when
we do, the citation is dismissed. This is an expensive inconvenience
for me to take time off of work and appear in court.
• Edina police need more diversity training.
• We are black and we are stopped several times each year by Edina
police officers and they don’t tell us of a violation but ask “What are
you doing here?” or “Where are you going?” If I ask why I was
stopped, the officer appears to look around trying to find a reason for
the arbitrary traffic stop.
• Our friends from another suburb, who are black, experience arbitrary
traffic stops on about one of ten of their visits to Edina.
• My children, who are black, have been stopped by police while
walking on the sidewalks in our neighborhood.
With Regard to Mobility
• There is no convenient public transit in our neighborhood.
• Schedules and routes are not convenient for us.
• Bus schedules are hard to understand.
• Some pedestrian crossings on France Avenue are still problematic.
• We need more access to transit to get to and from education, work,
public and retail services.
• Would Uber type system work in Edina?
• Maybe the MTC and the Edina Public Schools buses should operate
a single public transit system in Edina to saturate the city.
• In most areas of Edina there is adequate parking.
• Bus stops in Edina in the winter are atrocious.
Conclusions
Overall, the Working Group finds the Community Conversations initiative a
success. The sizable participant turnout produced significant feedback that
could help us in making Edina a more welcoming community. Participants
ranged in age and ethnic background, spoke multiple languages, were
relatively balanced by gender, and lived in a wide variety of neighborhoods
in Edina. Participants shared their experiences in five major facets of Edina
life – with regard to housing, education, safety, mobility and community life
itself, and in doing so, identified areas that could be improved.
Some findings highlight concerns already shared by members of the
Human Rights and Relations Commission, and other data collected serve
to shed light on new areas of concern that could help to further improve the
quality of life for Edina residents. The Working Group herby concludes its
work and turns over its findings for the Commission’s consideration.
Acknowledgements
The Advocates for Human Rights, represented primarily by Madeline
Lohman, supplied training and encouragement while commission member
Arnie Bigbee recruited volunteers, many of whom became instrumental in
the completion of the Conversations. Commissioner Bigbee served as
Chair of the Working Group, and continued in his dedication to see the
Conversations completed as a community volunteer. It is important to
acknowledge the support of and contribution to this activity by the members
of the Edina City Council, the City Manager and the support staff in several
City departments. Members of the Commission also made substantial
contributions to the Conversations in 2015 including Chair Patrice
Arseneault, member Jasna Burza, and student commissioners Caitlin
Kearney and Sidharth Ramesh.
Community volunteers included: Maggie Goetze, Charlie Goldstein, Mary
Kost, Sallie Lewis, Katie Oberle, Melvin Ogurak, Leonard Snyder, Chris
Bremer, Judith Rodgers, Katie Meehan and Sidharth Ramesh, who began
as a community member and continued working on the project as a student
commissioner. All were generous in volunteering their time. A special
thanks is owed to community volunteer Katie Meehan, who was
extraordinary with the insight, energy and commitment she brought to the
Conversations process planning and execution.
And finally, it is important to acknowledge the leadership and support of the
Edina Public Schools. Superintendent Ric Dressen along with Mary
Manderfeld led several of their staff who specialize in diversity and
multicultural initiatives to participate in the Conversations.
Report, Human Rights Cities Presentation
Ellen Kennedy
Date and event: November 24, 2015 Edina Morningside Rotary Club
Number of attendees: 48; comment cards completed: 12
Overall evaluation of the presentation: 10 excellent, 1 good, 1 fair
Understanding of the human rights city initiative: 1 excellent, 8 good, 3 fair
Suggested issues for us to address:
Discrimination
Incarceration and educational disparities
Elder rights
Youth homelessness
Education as affected by culture, culture as it affects work
Achievement gap - we can do better in Edina! what will it take?
Training for police on restraint in use of deadly force
Things we can do on a small scale to improve the human rights situation.
Attendees' demographics:
Occupation 7 business; 2 nonprofit; 1 law; 1 retired; 1 education
Where live: 6 Edina; 4 other suburb; 2 Mpls or St. Paul
Other comments:
Thank you for a very comprehensive and passionate presentation.
So glad that the EHRC is active and forward-looking; It makes Edina a better place (signed by
Ken Dragseth).
Get citizen input before plan is put into effect.
Wonderful - facts full.
Stories might create a deeper impact on audience.
Thank you.
What are we doing about Moslem (sic) population in the US in 2040 or 2050? Their religion will
be in the majority and they do not practice human rights (signed but I will keep this
anonymous).
OVERVIEW PAGE FOR DAYS OF REMEMBRANCE:
Each year, The City of Edina and the Human Rights and Relations Commission (HRRC) hosts an annual
“Days of Remembrance” event with the goal of remembering those who perished and honoring the
survivors, rescuers and liberators of the Hholocaust and other genocides around the world that continue
to impact our residents today. The initial request to acknowledge the “Days of Remembrance” came
from an Edina resident in 2011 who thought this was something the City of Edina should acknowledge
and support.
In 2012, the Edina City Council and Mayor Jim Hovland approved a proclamation indicating the City of
Edina would recognize the National Days of Remembrance annually in memory of victims of the
Holocaust and encourage the community to reflect on the need for respect for all people. April was also
designated as Genocide Awareness and prevention month in Minnesota by Governor Dayton. This bill
encourages organizations to sponsor events that educate the public and to remember those whose lives
and cultures have been forever changed.[TT1] In 2014, Edina acknowledged the 20th Anniversary of the
Rwandan Genocide as well as the crises in the Congo where six million people have perished since 1996.
In 2015, we recognized the 100th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide and the 70th Anniversary of
the end of WWII and the liberation of Auschwitz.
The City of Edina and the Edina Human Rights and Relations Commission recognizes Days of
Remembrance and Genocide Awareness annually at Edina City Hall in April or May. Our community
members have heard about the impact on denial of genocides on families and victims. We also heard
about the courage, dreams and lessons learned from survivors. Previous survivors who have presented
include: Fred Baron- successful businessman and holocaust survivor who passed away at the age of 91 in
2014; Fred Amram – retired University of MN professor; Dora Zaidenweber – author, speaker and
holocaust survivor. Edina also presents holocaust and genocide videos on Edina Channel 16 highlighting
the stories of Minnesota residents who have survived the holocaust and the impact on their families and
the local communities around them.
SUGGESTED NAME OF PAGE LISTED FOR LEFT HAND SIDE BAR:
Days of Remembrance: Holocaust and Genocide Awareness[TT2]
Suggested Captions for video links:
Fred Baron 2011 video: speaker, businessman and holocaust survivor; Fred speaks about his experiences
after surviving multiple internments in concentration camps in Poland and Germany and the lessons that
can be learned from the Holocaust.
Fred Amram 2014 video: author, speaker and holocaust survivor; Fred is a retired University of MN
professor who speaks about his experiences during the Holocaust as well as the courage needed to take
a stand and become an “Upstander” for human rights instead of a bystander.
Dora Zaidenweber 2015 video: author, speaker and holocaust survivor; Dora Zaidenweber, along with
author, artist and moderator, Susan Weinberg, spoke about Dora’s experiences, her family’s triumph
over adversity and their courage to survive. Dora believes in speaking out about her experiences and
has educated many young people, teachers and individuals about the Holocaust. If there is a lesson to
be learned from the Holocaust, Dora believes “if you do nothing and ignore what is happening when
others are being persecuted, you are no different than those who perpetrate the crimes.” Dora shares
her efforts to inspire the public to take important steps to reduce discrimination and hate.
I think these are all good videos to link!
39T
3
9
TBoard/Commission: Human Rights and Relations Commission 2016 Annual Work Plan Proposal Initiative 1 ☐☐☐☐ New Initiative ☐☐☐☐ Continued Initiative ☒☒☒☒ On-Going Initiative Target Completion Date Budget Required Staff Support Required (To be completed by Staff Liaison) Liaison Comments Tom Oye Award April 2016 $100 1. 1.Register Attendance at event 2. Track Nominations 3. 3. Update Website Progress Report: Initiative 2 ☐☐☐☐ New Initiative ☐☐☐☐ Continued Initiative ☒☒☒☒ On-Going Initiative Target Completion Date Budget Required Staff Support Required (To be completed by Staff Liaison) Liaison Comments Days of Remembrance April 2016 $1,000 1. Audio/Video – requires 2 CTS staff to come to event and complete video follow up 2. Marketing Pieces – CTS request 3. Meeting Space – secure City Hall, tables, chairs, easels 4. Communication – Social media, press release 5. Attend event Most of the staff support required is required from the CTS department. The liaison helps facilitate the requests. With attending the event there are many hours of staff support for this event. Progress Report: Initiative 3 ☐☐☐☐ New Initiative ☒☒☒☒ Continued Initiative ☐☐☐☐ On-Going Initiative Target Completion Date Budget Required Staff Support Required (To be completed by Staff Liaison) Liaison Comments Human Rights City Designation December 2016 $200 1. Meeting Space – secure rooms 2. Audio/Video – CTS staff to assist with taping The HRRC is hoping to secure Human Rights City Designation in the year 2016.
3. Communication – social media, press release Progress Report: Initiative 4 ☐☐☐☐ New Initiative ☒☒☒☒ Continued Initiative ☐☐☐☐ On-Going Initiative Target Completion Date Budget Required Staff Support Required (To be completed by Staff Liaison) Liaison Comments Community Conversations December 2016 None 1. Meeting Space 2. Report to CC The Human Rights City Designation hopes to use some of the information gathered from these meetings. Progress Report: Initiative 5 ☐☐☐☐ New Initiative ☒☒☒☒ Continued Initiative ☐☐☐☐ On-Going Initiative Target Completion Date Budget Required Staff Support Required (To be completed by Staff Liaison) Liaison Comments Affordable Housing Expanding Opportunity 1. Continued education on affordable housing 2. Monitor status of Edina 3. Support current efforts December 2016 None 1. Administrative 2. Connecting with the committee as the topic arises at the City Most of this committee’s work has been surrounding and supporting the Edina Housing Foundations Affordable Housing Policy. They have also been in support and watching 66 West project. Progress Report: Initiative 6 ☒☒☒☒ New Initiative ☐☐☐☐ Continued Initiative ☐☐☐☐ On-Going Initiative Target Completion Date Budget Required Staff Support Required (To be completed by Staff Liaison) Liaison Comments Convention of the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) • Resolution • Education November 2016 $500 1. Audio/Video – CTS staff to be at event 2. Marketing Pieces – CTS request 3. Meeting space – securing space 4. Communications 34T34T Progress Report:
Initiative 7 ☒☒☒☒ New Initiative ☐☐☐☐ Continued Initiative ☐☐☐☐ On-Going Initiative Target Completion Date Budget Required Staff Support Required (To be completed by Staff Liaison) Liaison Comments Indigenous Peoples Day Designation September 2016 None 1. Admin support – submitting reports to City Council The request is not to replace Columbus Day but to adopt a designation for Indigenous Peoples Day. Progress Report: Initiative 8 ☒☒☒☒ New Initiative ☐☐☐☐ Continued Initiative ☐☐☐☐ On-Going Initiative Target Completion Date Budget Required Staff Support Required (To be completed by Staff Liaison) Liaison Comments Co-sponsor Community Conversation with Edina Public Schools PCN (Parent Communication Network) October 2016 $150 1. Marketing pieces for event – CTS request 2. Communications One commission members is very well linked to the PCN. The topic has not been selected yet, but possibly ideas are “How to talk to your children: Race, Religion, and other Challenging Conversations” or Parents as Equity Educations” Progress Report: Initiative 9 ☒☒☒☒ New Initiative ☐☐☐☐ Continued Initiative ☐☐☐☐ On-Going Initiative Target Completion Date Budget Required Staff Support Required (To be completed by Staff Liaison) Liaison Comments Sharing Value and Sharing Communities • Community Event February 2016 $200 1. Marketing pieces for event – CTS request 2. Communications This event was added following the City Council work session on 11/17. Mayor asked HRRC to consider an event about “tolerance”. Idea is to bring representatives from multiple religions together for an event. Progress Report: Ongoing Responsibilities Edina Resource Center/Edina Community Council – HRRC Rep September to May, 3 year term Website/Blog
Bias Offense Response and Prevention Plan: Review annually HRRC Rep to Human Services Task Force Other Work Plan Ideas Considered for Current Year or Future Years Partnership with Health Commission on prescription drug abuse awareness. Food Justice Initiative Proposed Month for Joint Work Session (one time per year, up to 60 minutes): July 2016 Council Comments:
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Aq APARTMENTS from Bi The cities allege that
other forms of government affordable housing rules
assistance. have pushed an excess of
It's a scenario being low-income residents into
played out across the Twin their communities, while
Cities, housing advocates other suburbs take less than
say. With apartment vacancy their fair share. Richfield, for
rates in the metro area hov- example, has about 40 per-
ering around 2 percent, land- cent more Section 8 vouchers
lords have the market clout per resident than neighbor-
to raise rents and refuse ing Bloomington — and six
vouchers, both steps that times as many as neighbor-
tend to force out low-income ing Edina.
residents. "This is the kind of invest-
"Crossroads is a huge ment we want," Goettel said.
example of this happening, "We are getting investment in
and I think we're going to a complex that has not had it
continue to see it across the in decades not in years, but
metro area," said Eric Hauge, hi. decades."
an organizer with Home Line,
a nonprofit tenant advocacy Owner:We're being fair
group. "It's not illegal to dis- The man making that
criminate against poor peo- investment said things will
ple." sort themselves out eventu-
Jim Soderberg, new owner ally.
of the Concierge, said his "I've been in the business
company is making a valu- a long time," Soderberg said.
able investment in the future "People will find new places
of Richfield. The city's more to live easier than everyone
than 7,000 apartment units, realizes." He said when he
most of them built in the started in the apartment busi-
1950s and '60s, are tired and ness more than 30 years ago,
run down, he said. he specialized in taking Sec-
"If I were going to name tion 8 tenants.
the biggest challenge to Rich- "At first, that's ail took,"
field in the next five years, it he said. "For various reasons
would be renovating these I don't really want to get into,
50-year-old apartment build- I'm not really thrilled with
ings," he said. "We think this the program. It's a voluntary
will have a more positive program and we've decided
impact on Richfield than the not to volunteer." In fact, a
Best Buy headquarters." 2010 decision by the Minne-
sota Court of Appeals explic-
Few legal remedies itly upheld landlords' rights
Redevelopment of the to decline participation in
Concierge has galvanized Section 8 housing.
housing advocates. As many Soderberg, who special-
as 2,000 people lived at the izes in "problem properties
complex, an estimated 40 and rundown properties,"
percent of them Latino. said his post-renovation
Concierge residents "are monthly rents of around
people who are working hard $900 will still be in the afford-
to provide for themselves and able range for the Twin Cit-
their families," said Melissa ies rental market. All but two
Melnick, leader of Tapestry, of the 700 apartments at the
a multicultural and bilingual Concierge are one-bedroom
ministry housed at nearby units.
Woodlake Lutheran Church. Soderberg said he's
"Simply because people are worked with residents and
poor doesn't mean they don't advocates to make the change
make good neighbors. Jesus easier. Most of the residents
was a refugee and an immi- were on 30-day leases, but
grant." he's given them extra time
There's little that can be to find new housing.
done legally to help cur- "We could have gotten
rent Concierge residents, them out by Halloween," he
housing advocates said, and said. And after meeting with
more than half of the resi- the Richfield schools super-
dents have already moved intendent, he agreed to give
out. The city can't do much families with children in
either, said Mayor Debbie the Richfield schools until
Goettel. May 31 to vacate although
"This is a private real they'll be charged the new,
estate deal," she said. "They higher rent.
are asking for no zoning Soderberg promises a
changes or any other excep- "spectacular, condo-quality
tions. They were informed renovation" that will bring
of grants available for afford- lasting benefit to the city.
able housing and theyvveren't "When you get to the
interested." point where things are so
But Goettel also appreci- rundown, you attract unde-
ates the upgrade to one of sirable residents," he said.
the city's signature proper- "You get to the point where
ties. Richfield — along with good, responsible people
Brooldyn Park and irooklyn don't want to live in these
Center — is actively pursu- apartments."
ing a complaint with the U.S.
Department of Housing and John Reirian 612-673-7402
Urban Development.
Readers Write
RICHFIELD APARTMENT COMPLEX
Nothing less than social justice
is at stake in redevelopment
Thanks for shedding light on the mass dis-
placement of my neighbors and me — thousands
of low-income, immigrant and minority Richfield
residents ("Apartment redevelopment forces poor
tenants to move," Nov. 17). We have lived in our
homes five, 10 or 20-plus years, making substan-
tial contributions to our community, while relying
on nearby transit, community services, and local
employment and education opportunities. This is
more than a housing issue; it is a story about racial
4ridnconomic justice.
I. tie responses of the landlord and the city of
Richfield demonstrate the ignorance and racism
prevalent in our community. City and school lead-
ers met with the landlord without inclusion ofresi-
dents, announcing that failed negotiations were
"satisfactory" and that the "investment" displac-
ing thousands is what the city wants. The city's
involvement in a yearlong federal HUD complaint
is blatantly discriminatory, failing to address how
many low-income and minority residents wish
to remain in our community. We want to choose
where to live, not be forced out because the city is
not comfortable with who lives here.
We call on city and community leaders to
demand more out of businesses. Responsible busi-
nesses do not describe residents as "undesirable,"
use intimidation tactics, and force massive rent
increases while households face harmful and dis-
rupting renovations, and they do not use biased
rental screening to push people out. Jim Soderberg,
owner of the apartment complex discussed in the
story, describes his business plan as having a more
positive impact than Best Buy's headquarters. Does
Best Buy agree that displacing thousands of fami-
lies — its immediate neighbors — is the greatest
thing the city has experienced since moving its
business here?
Let's work together to find a way to keep our
homes affordable now and for future residents who
need homes near these important resources.
LINDA LEE SODERSTROM, Richfield
• • •
The coverage of the Richfield property slated
for renovation highlights a common occurrence
in the Twin Cities, one where poor people are sac-
rificed to legitimate business and local govern-
ment concerns. No one is seeing the big picture.
I don't fault developer Soderberg for restoring a
50-year-old apartment complex. And the city of
Richfield comes out ahead with abetter-managed
property and strengthened tax base. But these
individual gains contribute to a situation where
low-income people have fewer and fewer alter-
natives.
We have seen the number of very affordable
apartments drop by one-half since the year 2000.
The Metropolitan Council recently pointed out
that during that same time period, the number of
families paying over half of their income for hous-
ing doubled. Connect the dots! State and metro
leaders must face up to the deteriorating housing
situation facing our region's growing population of
those who cannot afford the "condo-quality reno-
vation" promised in Richfield.
CHIP HALBACH, St. Paul
The writer is director of the Minnesota Housing Partnership.
Sunnier 2015 ,
other
Warriors
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In Case YouWere Wondering What -You
Can Do As White Folks In America
are forced onto government subsidies
because Walmart won't pay them a
living wage.
Please join with Walmart workers
who are calling on the company to
pay their fair share everywhere. You
can stand with these workers by
Tweeting and Posting about the
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americansfortaxfairness.or
Celebrate American
Incians not Columbus
Hon. Ron Erhardt and Hon. Melissa
Franzen, Minnesota Senate,
Please support the bill to replace
Columbus Day with American Indian
and Indigenous Peoples Day on the
second Monday in October. It is
entirely fitting—and woefully overdue.
Columbus Day celebrates a period of
unparalleled genocide, slavery, and
theft. No single act can compensate
or adequately apologize for the horrific
fate that befell millions of native
people after Columbus arrived here.
But it's a start.
It is time we celebrate Native
American culture and history rather
than the subjugation, and genocide o
Indian nations. With thanks in advance,
Sandford Berma
Edina,
6i:b!rintoi hsNry
111
(1) Stop threatening to withdrawal
your support as if the purpose of
BlacicLivesMatter is to gain your
support. Black people are fighting for
our liberation on our terms, whether
or not white liberals approve.
(2) Democrats need 90 to 95%
support from black voters to win the
White House (and voter turn out
needs to be at record levels). Is it not
reasonable and just for such a sizable
base of support to expect our issues
be addressed? Shouldn't our issues
receive as much clarity and
specificity as the issues of the 43 to
49 % of white voters that vote
Democrat?
(3) Black women are the MOST
loyal Democratic voting base. And
we are sick and tired of waiting for
justice. We've more than put in our
dues. And along the way we've
learned a few things. We will not sit
down and wait our turn, because our
turn never comes.
(4) Yes, we need to talk to white
progressives. Yes we are talking to
you out of love, because you claim to
share our values. There is a war on
our communities. Our babies are
being murdered and disappeared to
jail cells and detention camps
spreading like weeds across the
country. We are screaming
#blacIdivesmatter to you because w(
need you to scream it everywhere.
White Supremacy relies on your
complacency. It relies on good white
liberals to care more about a
presidential rally than Mike Brown,
or Eric Garner, or Tamir Rice, or
Sandra Bland, or Dontre Hamilton,
or Tony Robinson etc:, etc., etc.
(5) Do not tell me black folks
should go protest the Republicans as
if (a) we didn't just get done
protesting the debates (b) we haven't
been getting arrested sitting in at
GOP offices across the US, and (c) as
if disrupting a crowd of vigilante gun
enthusiasts isn't slightly more
dangerous for black folks than for
white folks.
(6) I could keep going, but I can
see that people are feeling extra
emotional. Though I doubt you are as
emotional as Mike Brown's parents
at his funeral. This is a lot to process
so I'm going to leave it here and ask
you to engage in some self-reflection.
Jennifer Epps-Addison
Wisconsin JobsNow.org
page 6 Mother Warriors Voice
ACK Ti
BY SUSAN J. DOUGLAS
No Parental Leave Makes Jack a Dull Boy
AFTER THE CARNIVALESQUE REPUBLICAN DEBATES
showcasing bombast like Donald Trump's utterly preposter-
ous "build a wall" idea, or Carly Fiorina's shameful calls to
defund Planned Parenthood, or Chris Christie and Rand
Paul just screaming at each other, the Democratic debate
provided a welcome zone of substance and sanity. De-
spite their differences, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton
focused on a less sensational but crucially important issue:
paid family leave. As Sanders put it, "Every other major
country on Earth, every one, including some small coun-
tries, say that when a mother has a baby, she should stay
home with that baby. ... [It] is an international embar-
rassment that we do not provide paid family and medical
leave" Ditto for Clinton: "I want
to do more to help us balance
family and work [and] it's about
time we had paid family leave for
American families and join the
rest of the world:'
Read it and weep: A new study
by the Russell Sage Founda-
tion, "Too Many Children Left
Behind," compares the United
States with three other English-
speaking countries, and we come
up far short. Australia offers new
parents 18 weeks of paid leave,
Canada offers a year, and the UK
offers nine months. And us? We
guarantee a paltry 12 weeks of unpaid leave, and only for gov-
ernment employees or people who have worked full-time for
20 weeks at companies with more than 50 workers. Estimates
are that only about 12 percent of private-sector U.S. workers
have access to paid leave.
The Sage study provides compelling data to support
the need not only for paid family leave, but also for high-
quality early childhood education for all kids. Because the
United States has the most stingy and retrograde family
policies of any developed country, our children are not
doing as well educationally as children elsewhere. In 2012,
15-year-olds in at least 22 countries, including Estonia,
Slovenia, Vietnam and Latvia, had higher math scores than
U.S. kids, based on the Programme for International Stu-
dent Assessment (PISA). Our results were only marginally
better for science literacy. And our poor showing is based,
in part, on significant socioeconomic differences among
our children. As income inequality continues to soar in our
country, it has a powerful and determining impact on kids
who are not well-off, and thus on our collective future.
Their indifference to inequality aside, you'd think the GOP
might care about this, given that, as The Atlantic reported,
"PISA scores are an economic indicator: rising scores are a
good sign that a country's economy will grow as well:'
"Too Many Children Left Behind" provides compel-
ling evidence that the achievement gap begins even before
American children start kindergarten. The study found that
"inequalities in children's cognitive skills at school entry are
significantly larger in the United States than they are in the
other three countries:' in part because privileged children
can go to high-quality preschool
programs while others often
cannot. This hurts children from
poor families and exacerbates
generational poverty. But the
study also found that middle-
income families are squeezed:
Middle-income mothers typically
work the longest hours, yet their
wages have stagnated and they
often can't afford preschool, let
alone private school. Meanwhile,
wealthy families have been "in-
vesting a larger share of their re-
sources in their children" in what
the authors liken to an achievement
"arms race" So, American children from middle-income
families have more in common with their poorer peers at
school than their wealthier ones. Because the first five years
of life are so crucial to cognitive and emotional development,
these inequities can have lifelong consequences for these
children, their financial well-being and for us as a society.
Much of this is a result of our government's profound
disengagement from supporting families and children. In
particular, the study blames the lack of comprehensive work-
family policies, such as universal pre-K and paid sick leave.
The resultant inequality of opportunity is "not inevitable"
How can we remedy this? Institute paid family leave so all
parents have time to nurture their children. Provide high-
quality preschool for all 3- and 4-year-olds. Raise the mini-
mum wage and increase tax credits for parents and the poor.
This country is leaving way too many children behind—and
it can do better. M
Better family policies could level the playing field for
children of low- and middle-income backgrounds. AN/SHUTTERSTOCK PHOTO BY MILICA IN THESE TIMES DECEMBER 2015 15
Indian Summer 2015
Warriors ICE e-r
Call: 414-342-6662 Write: winvoice@attnet
Stop I n: 2711W. Michigan Milwaukee, Wi 53208Visit: welfarewarriors.org
and Welfa -e Wan', us on Facebook
fAt.K
Rather than arresting the homeless, the state
of Utah has reduced chronic homelessness
by 91% by providing them with permanent
housing. Even better, Utah has SAVED money
because housing costs the state $11,000 a
year while sailing them costs $17,000 a year.
1E. IF YOU WANT YOUR ATE TO 110 TEE SAME ,
Simple
Solution fo
Homeless:
F-Inw Fl
y the end of 2015, the
chronically homeless
population of Utah may be
virtually gone. And the secret is quite
simple: Give homes to the homeless.
"We call it Housing First,
employment second," said Lloyd
Pendleton, director of Utah's
Homeless Task Force. Even
Pendleton used to think trying to
eradicate homelessness using such an
approach was foolish.
"I said: 'You must be smoking
something. This is
totally unrealistic,"
Pendleton said.
But the results are hard
to dispute.
In 2005, Utah was home
to 1,932 chronically
homeless. By April
2015, there were only
178—a 91 percent
drop statewide. "It's a
philosophical shift in
how we go about it,"
Pendleton said. "We put
them in housing first ..
and then help them
begin to deal with the
issues that caused them
to be homeless."
Chronically homeless persons —
those living on the streets for more
than a year, or for four times in three
years, and have a debilitating
condition — make up 10 percent of
Utah's homeless population. But they
take up more than 50 percent of the
state's resources for the homeless.
It costs Utah $19,208 on average per
year to care for a chronically
tiomeless person. This includes
health and jail costs. Pendleton found
that to house and provide a
caseworker for the same person costs
the state about $7,800. "It's more
humane, and it's cheaper," Pendleton
said. "I call them 'homeless
citizens.'. They're not them and us.
It's 'we.'
For six years, Suzi Wright and her
sons, DJ and Brian, shuttled among
friend's homes, a van and the Salt
Lake City homeless shelter. After
Utah gave Wright a two-bedroom,
two-bathroom apartment, she got a
job as a cleaning supervisor at her
apartment complex.
"It makes you feel a lot better about
yourself, just being able to support
your family," Wright said. .
Those given apartments under the
Housing First program pay 30
percent of their income for rent or
$50, whichever is greater.
Army veteran Don Williams had
been sleeping under a bush for 10
years when Utah offered him an
apartment. When he realized they
weren't joking, he "jumped for joy,"
he said, laughing. "It was a blessing.
A real blessing.
(Comprehensive Report on
Homelessness, Utah 2014)
Housing Victory in
New Orleans
ew Orleans has done
something many thought
impossible. They are the
first US city to end veteran
homelessness. On Jan. 2 the city's
last known homeless veteran moved
into his new apartment.
Working with a 60 local agencies, the
city identified 227 veterans without
housing. They found housing for
every single one. New Orleans
Mayor Mitch Landrieu stated:
"We owe our Veterans our eternal
gratitude for their service and sacri-
fice to this nation. Making sure they
have a place to call home is a small
but powerful way we can show our
appreciation."
They took on the issue after being
challenged by First Lady Michelle
Obama. To date, 312 mayors, six
governors, and 71 other county or
city officials have accepted the
challenge. (Jen Hayden, Daily Kos)
page i Mother Warriors Voice
There is not a single place in
the US where a family with
one minimum-wage earner
can afford to rent or own a
two-bedroom home. Nowhere.
According to the Center for
Housing Policy, the percentage of
people paying more than half of
their income for shelter has risen for
both renters and owners. HUD puts
the number of "rent-poor"
households at 12 million.
Let's step back and look at fixed
incomes. The Social Security
Administration reports that the
average monthly retirement check is
$1,287. The average survivor's
benefit is $1,108. And the average
disability check is $1,016. The
maximum Supplemental Security
Income (SSI) disability check is
$733 for an individual and $1,100 a
month for a disabled or elderly
couple.
Finding a place to live on incomes
like these is quite the challenge.
What about wages? A minimum
wage worker, working 40 hours at
$7.25 an hour, earns $1,247 a
month. The National Low Income
Housing Coalition reports. that
workers need to work full time and
earn at least $19.35 an hour to
afford a decent two-bedroom place
at current rent levels.
Here's a random sample of costs for
a typical two bedroom:
Birmingham, $761; Boston, $2,144;
Flagstaff, $953; Greensboro, $673;
Honolulu, $1,577; Los Angeles,
$1,832; New York, $2,512;
Memphis, $811; Savannah, $795;
and Vancouver, $852.
The number of people without
shelter on any given night is
600,000 (National Alliance to End
Homelessness). Nearly half of those
who become homeless as a result of
foreclosures are renters. The US is
facing a shortage of more than
7 million units of affordable to low-
income housing. It is not an
overstatement to say that we're
facing a housing crisis.
Why Did This Happen? ..."The
Short Answer Is Ronald Reagan."
Ronald Reagan ended direct public
subsidies, the capital funds to build
new public housing. Before that
public housing was the primary
source of shelter for those unable to
pay private sector rents. The Reagan
era blamed Public housing for both
poverty and segregation. Reagan
pushed away from building public
housing in favor of subsidizing the
private development of housing.
Developers, planners and legislators
no longer talk about creating public
housing. They talk only about creating
so-called "affordable" housing. This
is merely a scam to put government
dollars into private pockets.
In the 1930s, '40s, '50s and `60s,
public housing was not mortgaged.
Banks and insurance companies
were not in housing business. And
debt service did not need to be
factored into rental fees. That is no
longer the case. For the past 20
years Congress has provided low-
income housing tax credits to
wealthy people and corporations.
They can write off big sums on their
taxes when they construct 'affordable'
housing. Whole syndicates of
investors build 'affordable' dwellings.
It's been a gravy train for investors.
And dollar for dollar, this is an
incredibly expensive way to build.
AND low-income renters are
usually priced out of housing
deemed "affordable."
Tom Angotti, professor of Urban
Affairs and Planning at Hunter
College in NYC explains, "Affordable
housing is a euphemism. We have to
ask, affordable for whom? HUD
establishes the Area Median Income
(AMI) for each city. When an area
includes well-heeled individuals, it
skews the median income upward.
So even when rents are capped at 30
percent of AMI, the rent is out of
reach for those with low incomes."
And Then Came Clinton
"This crisis," Angotti adds, "was
further exacerbated by Clinton's
continue next page
10.3 million US residents are extremely low income -
below 30 percent of median income. But only 3.2 million rental units
em. That's a shortage of 7.1 million apartments.
page 16 Mother Warriors Voice
HOPE 6 program. It allocated $5.8
billion for the construction of
mixed-income housing. HOPE 6
allowed public housing authorities
to demolish public housing complexes
and replace them with low-rise
buildings. It didn't happen. 100,000
units of public housing have been
lost since HOPE 6 began. There
are 354 state-or city-run programs
to support rental housing. But very
few of them benefit very poor
people."
10.3 million US residents are
extremely low income - at or below
30 percent of median income. But
only 3.2 million rental units are
affordable to them. That's a
shortage of 7.1 million.
"Some new housing is being built,"
says Andrew Scherer, of the Impact
Center for Public interest Law at
NY Law School. "But it's not nearly
enough, due to ongoing
displacement. It's just as important
to focus on anti-displacement work
- housing preservation - as it is on
building new units.
"Tenants also need stronger rent
protections. In NYC, an apartment
gets decontrolled when the monthly
rent hits $2,500. Then a landlord
can charge whatever they want.
Apal talents should not
automatically be decontrolled; rents
should also not get jacked up
whenever an apartment is vacated.
This policy provides an incentive to
°landlords to increase turnover."
Tl.3 only way things will improve
is with a federal program that
makes housing for low-income
people a priority.
There are some pockets of support
for real solutions to homelessness.
Oregon's governor, Kate Brown has
proposed a $100 million bond
initiative to finance the creation of
3,000 to 4,000 units of housing for
the state's poorest residents. This
would target homeless families with
school-aged children and those
being released from jails and
prisons. If approved, the initiative
will launch in 2016. It will lead to
the creation of small modular units
to large apartment buildings.
In Quixote Village in Olympia,
Washington 30 homes overlooking
Black Lake Meadows, opened. The
144-square-foot micro-units
surround a common kitchen,
showers and meeting area.
Construction was fmanced by
donations and a combination of
state, city, county and federal grants.
Residents, whose average annual
income is less than $3,000, pay
between $14 and $300 a month.
Residents range from 21 to 64.
They have either recently become
homeless or have been in-and-out of
homelessness for years. They have a
Residents' committee, a large
garden, and no AA, NA or
-
counseling on-site. The residents
did not want that.
The Quixote Village maintenance
budget, $240,000 a year, comes
from HUD, the rent roll and
donations.
But even HUD Secretary Julian
Castro admits that building
communities of 30 - no matter how
good they are - is not a solution to
the housing crisis. In February, he
estimated that it would take
approximately $2.5 billion to create
25,000 units of permanent
supportive housing for those who
need social services in addition to
housing. He also asked Congress to
authorize $235 million in Housing
Choice Vouchers to entice private
landlords to rent to the poor. He did
not, however, mention the need for
government-sponsored public
housing for the 7.1 million who've
been priced out of market-rate
dwellings.
In 1937; the Wagner-Stegall Act
was passed by Congress. That bill
was the nation's first commitment
of resources to "provide the most
vulnerable Americans with a home
that would otherwise be out of reach."
Isn't it time to resurrect that demand
for today's most vulnerable?
kieaner df. Bader
Tr bout
page i £2015
of Oregon watching people piggii
out inside the fence. I was two fe(
away (thru a window) of a delicic
steak at Ruth Chris Steak House.
i -spent one day on the streets of
, Portland and learned so much:
. .
1. It's no big deal to hold a sign
asking for money... because everyone
ignores you. I stood on an unoccupied
corner for an hour with my sign. It
read 'Local business owner trying to
understand our homeless problem.
All funds to be donated'.
Nobody made eye contact. They
fiddled with the radio, texted, looked
everywhere else. I did make $25.52
in that hour, thanks to one woman
who gave me $20. All the people
that gave me money were women. I
plan on donating $250 to Sisters Of
The Road in
honor of this
experience.
2. I met an 82-
yr-old woman
sitting on her
walker, holding
a cup for
money in front
of Whole
Foods. I asked
if she sat out
every day. She
said 'only when my social security
runs out and I need to eat'. She
wasn't interested in talking. I touched
her arm when saying good bye. She
teared up and said 'I can't remember
the last time someone touched me'.
People walked by ignoring her too.
3. I saw a man washing his clothes
in the Saturday Market fountains. He
laid them out to dry in the sun. They
looked great! I was impressed.
4.1 had some wonderful conversations
with complete strangers. I wore my
'Kindness Matters' t-shirt. A woman
commented that kindness is often
mistaken for weakness. We had a
deep 5 minute conversation on the
philosophy of kindness. I now also
know everything about poodles, the
breakdown of society in Somalia and
the different types of immigrants
(economic and political). These were
deep, smart conversations. People are
lonely and just wanted someone to listen.
5. It's exhausting being homeless.
My body hurt from walking and
carrying a backpack. There's
nowhere comfy to just relax. By
4pm, I was exhausted. So I took a
nap on a park bench. For years, I
thought that people sleeping on the
sidewalk in the day time were strung
out druggies. I'm sure some are. But
the people I met told me they sleep
during the day because it's safer.
They can't rest as deeply at night
and they are tired! After one day out
there, I was grumpy, tired and
dehydrated. It
sucks! I can't
imagine the toll
that a week out
there would take
on a body and spirit
6. I only saw one
cop. He was
harassing an old
man in a wheel
chair trying to sell
his homemade
stuff on the
sidewalk. He made the man move
because he didn't have a permit.
7. Nobody tried to sell me drugs. But
3 people asked if I had some for sale.
8. I fell in love with Portland in a
whole new way. This city is alive
and I felt alive in it. I saw a TV show
taping, dancing in Directors Park, a
dude beautifully playing a flute in
front of Powells, three different
music acts at the Bite, a miniature
stonehenge made out of bananas,
numerous history plaques, another
band, and the movie Grease on
Pioneer Square. I walked by
hundreds of people on their phones
missing the whole thing.
9. The line between the haves and
have nots was very apparent. I was
on the outside of the fence at the Bite
10. There are different groups of
homeless. There are those interest,
in drugs on the waterfront. There
those with mental illness wonderir
around. But most of those I met wn
having a crisis of spirit and trying
find themselves. There was an
executive from Seattle whose life
fell apart when his wife left him. B
is trying to pick up the pieces.
11. What can we as a city do? We
need to address the big issues of
poverty, mental illness and addictioi
But we can also do better right now.
We need more public restrooms.
There aren't enough and they are to
far apart. We need more water
fountains. We need a public
laundromat and bathing facility. We
need a public place for people to
come in from the elements and relax
in safety. We need a place for people
to store their belongings so they
don't have to carry them around all
day (and it litters up our city).
12. What can YOU do? Remember
they are people! Talk to them. Listen
to them. Acknowledge they exist.
Show some fucking compassion!
They are tired, sore, malnourished,
thirsty, ignored. Being out there
takes a huge toll on your spirit. Put
down your phone. Pay attention to
what is going on outside of yourself.
13. I went home in the early morning
hours. My intention was to learn
from the people and I did that. I
didn't feel unsafe for one minute. I
found the people kind and friendly. I
wondered what would change if we
all just opened our eyes to what is
happening instead of ignoring it.
Thanks for excusing my grammar.
I'm a visionary, not a writer.
Rene Spears
Small
Business
Owner
Portland
Oregon.
Mother Warriors Voice page 18
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afia WeJ are W o s on Facebook
Published August 22, 1865 in the NY
Daily Tribune: The following is a
genuine document dictated by an old
servant. It contains his ideas and
forms of expression."
To my Old Master, Col. PH Anderson
Big Spring, Tennessee.
SIR: I got your letter and was glad
to find that you had not forgotten
Jourdan, and that you wanted me to
come back and live with
you again. And you
promise to do better for
me than anybody else
can.
I have often felt uneasy
about you. I thought the
Yankees would have hung
you long ago for
harboring Rebs they
found at your house. I
suppose they never heard
about you going to Col.
Martin's to kill the Union
soldier left by his
company in their stable.
Although you shot at me
twice before I left you, I am glad
you are still living.
It would do me good to go back to
the dear old home and see Miss
Mary and Miss Martha and Allen,
Esther, Green and Lee. Give my
love to them all. Tell them I hope we
will meet in a better world, if not
this. I would have gone back to visit
when I was working in the Nashville
Hospital. But a neighbor told me
Henry intended to shoot me if he
ever got a chance.
I want to know particularly what the
good chance is you propose to give
me? I am doing tolerably well here;
I get $25 a month, with victuals and
clothing. I have a comfortable home
for Mandy (the folks here call her
Mrs. Anderson). The children, Milly
Jane and Grundy, go to school and
are learning well. The teacher says
Grundy has a head for a preacher.
They go to Sunday-School, and we
attend church regularly.
We are kindly treated. Sometirnes
we overhear others saying "Them
colored people were slaves". The
children feel hurt when they hear
such remarks. But I tell them it was
no disgrace in Tennessee to belong
to Col. Anderson. Now, if you -will
write and say what wages you will
give me, I will be better able to
decide whether it would be to my
advantage to move back again.
As to my freedom, which you say I
can have, there is nothing to be
gained on that score. I got my
free-papers in 1864 from the
Provost-Marshal-General at
Nashville. Mandy says she would be
afraid to go back without some
proof that you are sincerely disposed
to treat us justly and kindly.
We have concluded to test your
sincerity by asking you to send us
our wages for the time we served
you. This will make us forget and
forgive old sores, and rely on your
future justice and friendship.
I served you faithfully for thirty-
two years, and Mandy twenty
years, at $25 a month for me, and
$2 a week for Mandy. Our
earnings would amount to
$11,680. Add to this the interest
for the years our wages has been
kept back and deduct what you
paid for our clothing and three
doctor's visits for me, and puffin
a tooth for Mandy. The balance
will show what we are entitled tc
Please send the money by Adams
Express, in care of V. Winters, esq.
Dayton, Ohio. If you fail to pay us
for faithful labors in the past we ca
have little faith in your promises in
the future. We trust the good Make,
has opened your eyes to
the wrongs you and your
fathers have done to me
and mine, in making us to
for generations without
recompense.
Here I draw my wages
every Saturday night. But
in Tennessee there was
never any payday for the
negroos any more than for
the horses and cows.
Surely there will be a day
of reckoning for those whc
defraud the laborer of his
hire.
In answering this letter please state
if there would be any safety for my
Milly and Jane, who are now grown
up and both good looking girls. You
know how it was with poor Matilda
and Catherine. I would rather stay
here and starve and die, if it come to
that, than have my girls brought to
shame by the violence and
wickedness of their young masters.
You will also please state if there has
been any schools opened for the
colored children in your neighborhood.
The great desire of my life now is to
give my children an education, and
have them form virtuous habits.
From your old servant,
Jourdan Anderson.
P.S.—Say howdy to George Carter.
Please thank him for taking the
pistol from you when you were
shooting at me.
Mother Warriors Voice page 34
-II "The Case for Reparations,"
Ta-Nehisi Coates of the Atlantic
_sets slavery aside to focus on the
long plunder of the 20th century.
Whites used coercion, violence, and
government to exclude blacks from
the bounty of US prosperity. The
civil rights revolution of the 1960s
was vital. But it wasn't a panacea.
The problems today—from the raci4,
wealth gap to the crumbling ghettos—
stem from past racist policies. As
Coates puts it, "White supremacy is
... a force so fundamental to the US
that it is difficult to imagine the
country without it."
Black families paid taxes and black
soldiers fought for America in
Europe and the Pacific. But—from
low-interest home loans to money
for education—Blacks were barred
from the benefits of the G.I. ill.
The same federal dollars that built
the suburbs kept blacks out of them.
The federal government "pioneered
the practice of redlining," writes
Coates, "Any property it insured had
to include a clause forbidding sale of
the property to anyone other than whites.
Millions of tax dollars flowed into
segregated white neighborhoods.
Legislatures, mayors, banks, civic
groups, and citizens colluded to pin
black people into ghettos—overcrowded,
overcharged, and undereducated.
The case for reparations is obvious.
As public policy, the US stole wealth
from black people, denied them a
shot at prosperity, and deprived them
of equal citizenship.
And that's just the 20th century. If
you include all stolen income from
the revolution to secession—the
balance falls deep' into the red. In
1860 slaves represented $10 trillion
in wealth (by today's dollars). If you
compound interest—for the
compounding plunder of the next
century—you are left with a very
large amount of money.
Even if your great grandparents
never owned slaves or knew blacks,
they still reaped the fruits of state-
sanctioned and directed theft. They
got cheap loans, cheap education,
and an unequal playing field.
The "wealth option," ie. cash
payments, is what we tend to think
when we hear "reparations." The
federal government would mail
checks to individuals, either in a
lump sum or spread out over
time. This empowers individuals,
families, and communities. They
blow what they need.
Yes, a cash scheme could never be
fully fair, but that's not the point.
What we want is to heal injury and
balance accounts. It could work.
On the other end is the policy
approach. The federal government
would taclde racial inequality at its
roots: housing, criminal justice,
education, and income inequality.
Housing
To reduce the hyper-segregation of
black life, the federal government
would aggressively enforce the Fair
Housing Act. It would attack
housing and lending discrimination,
an_d punish low income communities
with exclusionary zoning. It would
provide vouchers for those who want
to move and subsidize mortgages for
those who want to own. It would
make huge investments in fransportation
to connect low-income blacks to
jobs in wealthier, whiter areas.
Education
State governments could end
education budgets based on local
property taxes—which harm poor
communities, disproportionately
blacks. Federal government could
invest in school reconstruction,
modernization, and higher education
subsidies for black Americans.
These "in-kind" benefits free up
disposable income, like cash payments.
&Maud Justice & Income Inequality
Feds would put an end to the war on
drugs, an end to mass incarceration,
and a national re-evaluation of police
procedures to reduce racial profiling.
And it could include progressive
"baby bonds"—federally managed
investment accounts with modest
annual growth. At $60 billion a year
this would help ameliorate wealth
inequality for future generations.
However a reparations scheme is
designed, it would be incredibly
unpopular. Our racialized disdain for
the "undeserving" and distaste for
intrusive government would be the
excuse. Even if it happened, the
courts would probably kill it.
As Coates writes, the money isn't
important. What's critical is that we
reckon with our national crimes
against black Americans, to say
nothing of Native Americans and
other minority groups. We must
wrestle with our history, lest we
ignore the "certain sins of the
future"—or work--
Jatrielle B4,12lie
Adapted from slate.com
page 35 f 2015